In my last post, I mentioned the cramp I had in my calf during my 19 mile (I love saying that!) run. I did an ice bath, stretched, stretched again, and yesterday was a complete rest day. Calf was feeling back to normal.
Today, headed out for a short 6k run, calf cramp came back, much quicker this time. Slowed to a walk a few times, but near the end of the run, my legs had finally loosened up some. Stretched as usual after my run, used The Stick, and will do some yoga and foam rolling tonight.
Stuart suggested S-Caps via twitter today, and it got me thinking, and reminded me of a conversation I overheard....
my son and Jay's daughter were each having a soft drink last week... and as kids do, compare everything. "How many calories in your drink, mine has..." "How much sodium?" ... "Oh ya, well mine has...."
I used to drink a lot of soft drinks, particularly diet Coke, more than 1-2/day. But one of the many ways that running has changed me, I actually enjoy and drink a lot of water now! Having a soft drink is rare these days, but I still need my coffee.
Moving into this new place at the beginning of April has also seriously changed my eating. Put it this way (so that I can make a very long story extremely short), I was 10 months with no kitchen! That means a lot of convenience food, more eating out than I'd like to remember, and probably not the best food choices (ie, higher in fat, higher in sodium, etc). I've since been craving green food, salads -- just real food.
So, with having made these positive changes in my diet, am I perhaps low in sodium, maybe causing the cramping? Sodium, as in regular salt, as well as potassium is what I'm losing when sweating right? (If this sounds dumb, my excuse is and always will be that I've had my right temporal lobe removed... it's quite possible that the doctor also removed common sense and the answers to sometimes dumb questions...) :)
Spring has also finally sprung, and as usually happens in both spring and fall, I tend to overdress. I have such a hard time figuring out what to wear based on weather. As a result, I'm often to hot, resulting in more sweating. While I've not yet taken in any additional supplements, I've also been finding my face caked with a lot of salt post runs, extremely gritty, so perhaps I'm just losing more than what I'm taking in. Sorta the opposite of what RoadWarrior posted about here on Sunday -- white as a ghost, but he has been taking the additional electrolytes.
As for running nutrition, I had 4 gels during my 19 miles, (3 Hammer, 1 Gu), taken about every 45min-60min. My fuel belt holds 5 of the little bottles, 1 which was plain water, and the other 4 had 1 tube of Simply Nutrilite Tropical Sport diluted in water to fill the remaining bottles. One tube contain only 10 calories, 270mg of sodium, 80mg Potassium and 2g Carbohydrate. By the time I finished the run, I had gone through all bottles, but never felt like I needed to ration it out; I had plenty of places to stop and refill if needed.
Any thoughts on what I should be doing differently, and how I can get rid of these cramps? The marathon is getting much closer... not much time left! Always appreciate your thoughts :)
33 comments:
You are pushing your body past any destination it has gone before, good job you are finding all of this out now.
Table salt, might help, I know Marathon Bill drinks coke once in awhile, however Nitmos has major calf cramps.
Sorry I'm of no help now that I'm into my third paragraph, however, I'll be interested in reading what others have to say.
Good Luck kiddo!
I read somewhere (Runner's World maybe?) that drinking water on long runs isn't particularly useful because you sweat it out too quickly, and with it, all of the salt/potatsium that you need...In other words, when you run, you want to retain as much salt as you can, (as opposed to the rest of the time, when too much salt makes us gain water weight), so it's best to drink sports drinks instead of water.
After I read this, I rarely drink water alone on long runs, unless I'm using it as a chaser for the Gu, and I don't get muscle cramps any longer. In fact, when I ran the marathon, there was a salt station, and I actually downed a package of salt (not as yukky as it sounds, so I'm thinking my body needed it). So I think you're on the right track with thinking about whether the cramps are salt related now.
Oh, and YAY for the 19 mile run...that just ROCKS!
Have you tried salt tabs or electrolyte pills instead of the sports drink. Electrolytes absorb into your system differently depending on the form.
I once read that a marathoner actually broke open an electrolyte pill and poured it under the tough to get rid of cramps. I haven't tried it though, just the thought makes me queasy.
If you've got cramping problems, it's likely one (or two) of two things: lack of sodium or lack of potassium (like from bananas).
I haven't had any cramping during my long runs and I haven't felt light headed, but wow, that was one white face when I looked in the mirror on Sunday.
It could certainly be that your better diet means less sodium, which is probably a good thing.
Shirley mentioned that my body may be trying to get rid of the salt because I have too much. It may not be the worst thing in the world, especially if I don't have the cramping problems.
I'm checking around and will let you know if I come up with any answers.
As a salt-lover, I'm inclined to think salt is good for just about anything (I feel the same about chocolate, btw... lol).
As a rookie runner who doesn't know a whole lot about this stuff, I have to agree that maybe you need to ingest extra salt while you run. It may just be a matter of seeing which type works best for you.
Hmmmm...maybe we should invent a Runners' Salt Lick. We might get rich!
I used to get wicked headaches after long runs or races and I traced it back to electrolyte imbalances. I have found that by taking one Electrolyte capsule (I get mine from Hammer Nutrition) after an hour of running and another for every half hour after that, I don't have the problems anymore and I recover much easier. Your cramping might be from the Electrolyte imbalances, too. Sports drinks are good, but they don't have nearly enough electrolytes for long runs. The capsules might make all the difference for you. I think Hammer Nutrition even offers sample packs on their website to try for free. I hope this helps.
I don't have any answers for you, but man, do I wish I had an excuse like that for my lack of common sense!! :-)
I'm interested to see what works, though. I always think that if you pay attention, you're body will tell you exactly what you need, so if you're feeling like it's salt then you're probably on the right track.
Sorry about the cramping episode, Mel. Your body may not have the amount of salt that it needs to run a 19-miler (feel free to say that as many times as you want to, by the way!). I agree that a body needs more sport drink than water during a long run. I think if you experiment with different types of fluids/food, you will find the right balance. Good luck, girl!
I'd recommend gatorade or something other than water too for long runs. And lots of stretching.
i've never had cramping issues, but i've heard it can be related to electrolytes.
many different ways to remedy that. guess you need to find what works for YOU
My hubby used to get bad calf cramps while sleeping-doc made him eat more salt and no more cramps!
Love all the responses-I learned a few things myself.
Good questions I can learn from for my HM next month!
I won't say everything that's been said before! YAY, for 19 mile run. You're going to do great but eat more salt:)
Hi Mel
I do not know much about salt and what causes cramping but I do know that overdressing on hot days can very much impede your running. I know it does for me. Even a tee shirt instead of a long sleeved tee helps. Just thoughts.
I'm sorry about the cramping though. Perhaps as your body gets used to your new and different diet it will adjust?
did you say 19 miles?! :)
you know when I was having all of those calf cramps I was getting plenty of sodium. The only thing I found to truly help was drinking Propel or some other sports drink with lots of vitamins and such right afterwards. I never did a gatorade or anything...just some small replinishment quickly.
however, we're all different! so you might see what happens if you up your salt intake
I take salt during my marathons, and it does help with some cramping, the best thing is to experiment a little.
Hmmm...I don't know. I would try a little more salt and also maybe more bananas. Or a sports drink.
GOOD LUCK!
Sorry Mel, I wish I had some answers for you. Looks like you are getting some goood advice above, so I hope that helps.
I was going to suggest salt tabs too.
Yay! for a 19 mile run!
I eat a banana before all my long runs as well as take gatorade and water. I try to alternate the gatorade and water.
Compression socks after the run help alleviate cramping too.
Also for your overdress issues runners world has a great tool of what to wear - found it immensely helpful on these in between days!
The main reason that we have cramps is due to electrolyte imbalance (Sodium/Potassium). Sometimes water doesn't help on long runs and you may need to take a salt tablet and probably be drinking a power drink.
Just curious - if I may?
What section of the temporal lobe did you have removed? you may not know - (Anterior, medial,ventral, superior,posterior) just curious..
I think you are right with the sodium. I would definitely try and drink some kind of sport drink on your long runs, gatorade, nuun, something to help keep everything in balance.
I dont have any suggestions for you , but will be eyeing your comments carefully for solutions! I stopped drinking soda when I started running in 05, cold turkey, ugh!
i'm sure kicking the soda habit has been good for you. maybe you could work in some potato chips though ;)
great excuse for your "lack of common sense". i think this is a very valid question and not something you should feel dumb about, silly. still, a good excuse! lol.
i'm gonna go along with a lot of other folks and go with some sort of salt-intake (tablets or sport drinks) during a run. i've never had a big issue with cramps during a run, but kevin at 5ks & cabernets has had some and he mentioned taking little packs of salt seemed to work for him. so, worth a shot i think - plus it's so cheap! just raid the burger king :)
good luck - hope you are able to figure out a solution/prevention!
Road Warrior beat me to it...eat more bananas. Fueling is important while running, especially in the heat, but your body needs constant fueling preceding up to the run as well, meaning in the days before the long run.
My calf cramped up on me in the middle of the night a couple nights ago, my first thought was that I hadn't drank enough water for a couple days and eat a banana in the morning.
Has it happened again? Boy! Those hurt! I've never had it happen on a run though.
I always take S Caps before and during long runs and I've never had cramping problems. They're pretty cheap too - totally worth it!
I only drink water during all my runs and find I need salt during them. Since a lot of the gels don't have that much salt, I also eat the margarita clif shot bloks. They have added salt in them...and they taste pretty good, too!
Knock on wood, I haven't had too many issues with cramping on a run, just in the pool! Not sure I'm of much help. Sounds like you've gotten some good advice though!
I don't have the long distance creds to offer too much up, but I've thought about taking along some salt packets on a long run. I'm usually totally caked in salt.. face, arms, hands. It's pretty strange.
My husband is a very salty sweater, and he has to take salt tabs during the marathon. Cramping is the only running pain I have yet to experience, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. Good luck figuring it out- you can do it!
Can't help you on the cramp, sistre, beyond suggesting you maybe lick Lot's wife - which sounds dirty but it's not and is in fact straight out of the Bible so get you brain outta the gutter why don't you?!
Also, I hear you on the overdressing during the change of seasons. I do that too. I try to tell myself "It's a run - you're gonna get hot with all these clothes on" but when it comes to listening to my own common sense advice I'm just one Big Bag of F*cktard, I guess.
I've only had calf cramps one time and that was during the marathon. I think some salt tabs would do the trick :-)
Hi Melanie
Great job on the 19! miler. And glad to hear that the calf is behaving itself. You have done some great mileage lately and that is going to cause some soreness and maybe a few minor muscle strains. But nothing you can't handle:-)
Thank you for being so supportive on my blog. My Boston sucked this year, but on the other hand I was lucky to be there in the first place and didn't want to sound like a whiner.
Best of luck with your training!
Hey there.. soon to be Marathoner.. You know, it is strange that I don't have this kind of issue. However, I always drink Gatorade whenever I am doing my long run. I do know that eating banana helps before the long run. Anything rich in potassium helps.
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